sports Join Hadassah's Lunch and Learn Programs and Advocate for Israel! Filling The Hoop All programs will be held at the Sarah & Ralph Davidson Hadassah House Noon to 2 PM $8 per person Steve Stein I Contributing Writer I on Radner is a scoring machine on the basketball IJ court. The Berkley High School junior point guard from Huntington Woods is averaging an Oakland County-best 27 points per game even though oppos- ing teams are focusing their defensive efforts on him. Barry Bershad isn't surprised. He coached Radner on two Detroit teams in the JCC Maccabi Games, and Detroit won a medal both times. He's one of Radner's biggest fans. "Jon is quick with the basketball, and he's a hard-nosed player; Bershad said. "He's progressing very well and working hard on his game. He's going to play college basketball at some lever Radner said he thought he could do well playing high school ball, but his scoring has exceeded his expectations. "I've had to keep adjusting my game, to score in different ways, since teams started defending me so tightly late last season:' he said. Radner can attack the rim even though he's only 5-foot-11, and he can score from the outside with an array of jump shots. He's also a deadly free- throw shooter. He's started for Berkley since joining the team just past the halfway point of his freshman season. He averaged about 10 points as a freshman and about 16 points as a sophomore. He scored 30 points in a Michigan High School Athletic Association Class A district overtime loss last year to Oak Park. Berkley hasn't had much team suc- cess in recent seasons. The Bears were 4-17 last year, and they were 7-9 as of last week. But with all five starters coming back next year, Radner is confident Berkley will be a team to watch. As for the end of this season, Radner wants to see Berkley finish with a winning streak and at least get to the district championship game at Southfield-Lathrup. After a first-round bye, Coach David McGlown's Bears will meet Lathrup on March 5 in the district semifinals. Berkley hasn't won a postseason game in Radner's high school career, but he certainly had success during his Maccabi Games days. Radner was the star of the Detroit U14 team coached by Bershad that won a gold medal in 2011 in To RSVP or for more information: Tuesday March 11, 2014 Neil Lazarus It's a War of Words Mr. Lazarus is an internationally acclaimed Mideast political expert who has served as a consultant for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Defense Forces. Lazarus is one of Israel's leading political commentators. 248-683-5030 HA DAS SAI- Save the Date: DETROIT JEWISH NEWS April 8 f2Y-- JN StandWthUs ...Imo mei mew., AWARelations • Council Jon Radner Springfield, Mass. It remains the only gold medal won by a Detroit Maccabi basketball team. Detroit won all seven games it played in Springfield, and it averaged an amazing 73 points per game to top a 17-team field. It beat Springfield 82-66 for the championship in its seventh game in four days. Radner scored 36 points in an open- ing-round win over Denver. Steve Weiss was Radner's coach the following year when the Detroit U16 team won six of seven games and a bronze medal in Houston. Detroit's only loss was a 55-51 defeat inflicted by eventual gold-medalist Los Angeles. It beat Phoenix 74-61 for the bronze. Last year Radner helped the Detroit U16 team coached by Bershad win a "B" division silver medal in Orange County, Calif. "Playing in the Maccabi Games was a great experience, not only because I got to play basketball Radner said. Radner isn't just excelling on the basketball court at Berkley. He's a 3.9 grade point average student, a member of the National Honor Society, and he's organized shoe drive and food bank efforts. He's also a champion tennis player. He won an MHSAA Division 2 region- al title last fall at No. 4 doubles with partner Spencer Lee and competed in the state tournament. "I enjoy playing tennis, and I have a lot of friends on the team:' Radner said. "I don't play tennis to get away from basketball. I still play basketball during tennis season:' Radner, 17, has an older brother Alexander, 20, a sophomore at Grand Valley State University, and a younger sister Katie, 11, at sixth-grader at Norup Middle School in Oak Park. His parents are Rick and Beth Radner. ❑ - Meet two female Israeli Soldiers who will share their personal stories. • Jewish •■ • Community [ I _ woo- iiii1P4Iir•11P11110 -1 pit,it117111 8.110 p '14* b limpiiro no on Fl Fr oFF6- 1 - 2 , Year-Round Swim Lessons! "I" Fr Beat the winter blues in our 90 degree pools! Our pools are 90 degrees! At Goldfish, we start our swimmers at 4 months old! 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